SERIE A TO GRIMSBY TOWN: FISHY MOVE?

10th February 1996 When a player moves from Italy's Serie A to join Grimsby Town - and pays half the transfer fee out of his own pocket - you can imagine he would become a fans' favourite. Sadly though the main memory of Ivano Bonetti in darkest Lincolnshire wasn't of him on the pitch but the infamous 'chicken wings' incident (see below). After a 3-2 defeat away to Luton Town on Saturday 10th February 1996 (just a month after they had beaten Luton 7-1 in an FA Cup tie) Grimsby manager Brian Laws confronted the former Juventus player about his lack of effort and the confrontation ended when Laws threw a plate of chicken wings at Bonetti, breaking his cheekbone. And that certainly made the "head" lines! When Bonetti signed for Grimsby Town in 1995, it brought massive national attention to the club, and he became an instant fans' favourite. The loyalty of the fans was tested when it was announced that £100,000 was needed to hire Bonetti from the American management company that held the rights to his "services and image"; this was raised by £50,000 from the fans and £50,000 from Bonetti himself, further increasing his appeal. Grimsby, under FIFA regulations, was not allowed to deal with the company and probably could not have afforded the money anyway.

The love affair was completed when he scored the winning goal against West Brom, then managed by former Grimsby boss Alan Buckley and featuring several former Grimsby players.

The "plate of chicken" incident  

On 10 February 1996, an incident after a 3–2 defeat away to Luton Town led to the departure of Bonetti from Blundell Park Just a month before, Grimsby had beaten them 7–1 in the FA Cup third round. Brian Laws, angry after the defeat, threw a plate of chicken wings at Bonetti, who he felt did not try hard enough, leaving him with a fractured cheekbone. At the end of the season, Bonetti left for Tranmere Rovers on a free transfer; Laws lasted until November of the next season. At Tranmere, Bonetti scored twice, including a late winner in a 4–3 win over Portmouth. At the start of the 1997–98 season, Bonetti turned up at Crystal Palace, making two substitute appearances in the Premiere League, shortly before returning to Italy to join Genoa.

Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1984	Brescia	70	(3)
1984–1985	Genoa	31	(1)
1985–1987	Juventus	18	(2)
1987–1988	Atalanta	26	(2)
1988–1990	Bologna	62	(3)
1990–1993	Sampdoria	61	(0)
1993–1994	Bologna	18	(2)
1994	Torina	5	(0)
1995	Brescia	16	(0)
1995–1996	Grimsby Town	19	(3)
1996	Tranmere Rovers	13	(2)
1997	Crystal Palace	2	(0)
1997–1999	Genoa	55	(1)
1999–2000	Sestrese	19	(0)
2000–2002	Dumndee	18	(2)
Total		433	(20)
Managerial career
2000–2002	Dundee
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

10th February 2002, former Spurs favourites Paul Gascoigne and David Ginola (yes, it is them in photo) teamed up for a Tottenham Legends charity match against Inter Milan at the new Spurs ground, in March 2019 it proved a very popular photo opportunity. But the two did once play together in the Premier League - for about 20 minutes - in the colours of Everton on 10th February 2002 against Arsenal at Goodison Park. David Ginola made his debut for Everton in that match with Gazza coming on as a late sub. Ginola only ever made five League outings for Everton with the Arsenal match being the only one they played together in the Premier League. Arsenal won 1-0. 

ON THIS DAY; A TREVOR MILLION POUNDS

Trevor Francis became the first £1 million pound football transfer player on February 9th 1979. His move from Birmingham City to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest was actually publicised at £999,999, so that "the lad wouldn't get too big headed"!... Old "Big Head" told the press.

With add-ons, the total fee was £1.15m beating the previous most expensive transfer in British football, David Mills from Middlesbrough to West Bromwich Albion. read this link about transfers.
It's a ling time since Alf Common cost £1,000 involving Middlesbrough back in the day.
http://www.myfootballfacts.com/BritishFootballPlayerTransferRecords1904-2009.html

Alf was born in Sunderland, played for them, went to Sheffield United for £325 and won an FA Cup medal with the Blades in 1902 after helping Sunderland AFC to a runners-up place in the First Division. After that he scored 58 goals in 168 apps for Middlesbrough, had a spell at Woolwich Arsenal and helped Preston to a Second Division promotion in 1913. With all his clubs he averaged 1 goal in 3 games. With 3 England caps and two goals, his career came to halt with the Great War but he lived on until 1946, running pubs in the north-east and that sort of thing!

David Mills, who cost £516,000, came from Whitby Town and had played for England Schoolboys as a forward. He joined Middlesbrough in 1968 and stayed there for 11 years, making nearly 300 appearances. He scored 76 goals before moving on to the Baggies under Ron Atkinson.

From there he moved to Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United, back to Middlesbrough in 1985 and finished off at Darlington and then home to Whitby Town. 

He died on the morning of July 24, 2023, at his apartment near Marbella, Spain. A family spokesman confirmed he suffered a heart attack. Legacy: As well as being the first player transferred for over £1 million (from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in 1979), he won two European Cups under Brian Clough

. 

Career Highlights: He earned 52 caps for England, scoring 12 goals, and played in the 1982 World Cup. He also had a successful managerial career with QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City, and Crystal Palace. 

Trevor Francis, born in Plymouth, was more prominent as a footballer and manager spending time at Birmingham City (280 apps with 119 goals) so no wonder Brian wanted him. Francis had a spell at Detroit Express, Nottingham Forest (70 with 28 goals), Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta (USA), Rangers, Wollongong City in Australia, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday, two clubs he managed, along with Birmingham City and Crystal Palace. The pioneering former England forward and Britain's first £1 million footballer, died on July 24, 2023, at the age of 69 following a heart attack at his home in Spain. He was a Nottingham Forest legend who scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final. He lost his wife to cancer in 1974 and had two sons together

He suffered a heart attack in April 2012.

CAPELLO, REDKNAPP AND HARMISON

On the 8th February 2012......Two stories dominated the sporting news on this day in 2012. First of all Fabio Capello resigned as manager of England.

The FA had gone over the Italian’s head to deprive John Terry of the England captaincy following the controversial Anton Ferdinand incident and Capello, believing his authority had been undermined, resigned as a result. On the same day at Southwark Crown Court Harry Redknapp was cleared of tax evasion having been accused of accepting secret untaxed bonus payments while manager of Portsmouth. Inevitably the press connected the two stories believing that ‘Arry’s acquittal removed the only obstacle to him becoming the new England manager. Well, it didn’t quite happen like that – but should it have done?

and on the 8th February 2015
One of the more unusual managerial appointments (and there have been some unusual ones!) - came on 8th February 2015 when Steve Harmison was appointed boss of Ashington FC. Harmiston was a former Durham and England fast-bowler who had played 63 times for England and had taken 226 Test wickets. Ashington FC were in the Northern League and had a usual home attendance of around 200. Harmison explained that it was his hometown club, he played for them before he joined Durham and trained with them while a Durham cricketer. But his first footballing love was Newcastle United! He resigned from the job in October 2017. OVER!

Harmison currently lives in Ashington with his wife Hayley and their three daughters Emily, Abbie and Isabel and son, Charlie. A family man by nature, Harmison admitted to homesickness and missing his family each time the England team went on tour; in an interview with The Independent in 2005, he stated:

"I have a family. I have kids that need me around and they will dictate the decisions I make on my career....My international career will finish when my family needs me to be around a bit more." He still remains a huge fan of football and is a lifelong supporter of Newcastle United F.C. Harmison has suffered from clinical depression from an early age,  but hid it as home sickness during his England career.

FEBRUARY 7th in History

 

Year	Events
1935	Cliff Jones, former Wales national football team player (59 caps and 16 goals),                                born this day.
1959	67 years ago, the former Rep. of Ireland football player Mick McCarthy is born.                                  He appeared for 57 matches in total and scored 2 international goals for                                        Rep. of Ireland.  He was also a national team manager.
1965	Birthday of the Denmark football referee Nicolai Vollquartz, who was an official                                 at 16 international games of European association football teams.
1978	Birthday of Daniel Van Buyten, who played for Belgium national team in                                      period 2001-2014  (85 caps and 10 goals).
1988	Estadio Cartagonova was opened in Cartagena. The venue hosted 2 football                                        matches of European national teams.
1993	Birthday of Valon Berisha, who played for Kosovo and Norway national teams                                    in period  2012-2016 (71 caps and 4 goals).
1997	International footballer Nicolò Barella is born 29 years ago. He played 66 matches                            for Italy national team and scored 10 goals.

MUNICH ANNIVERSARY

After beating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 in the European Cup quarter-finals first leg, in 1958, at Old Trafford, Manchester United travelled to Yugoslavia and had the tie wrapped up by half time. Dennis Viollet put United  ahead within 90 seconds and he then had a header disallowed on 14 minutes. Bobby Charlton scored one of his 30 yard screamers to make the score 2-0 on 30 minutes and one minute later, Duncan Edwards caused mayhem in the Red Start area with another goal. Red Star scored three in the second half to draw level but it would not have been enough as they needed four to force aplay off. The "Busby Babes" would get another chance to break Real Madrid's strong hold on the Europen Cup and win a place in European Cup history.

The Babes would indeed be guaranteed their place in history, but in the most tragic way. In the wake of the Superga Disaster, many clubs divided their squads in two and sent parties off in separate aircrafts. United did not! Their return flight from Belgrade stopped to refuel at Munich Airport, where it was snowing, but the pilot tried to take off and aborted two attempts which failed. On the third attempt, there was so much slush on the runway, the plane could not raise enough speed to take off and skidded off the runway at 157mph. careering into a nearby building, into which the impact killed 21 of the 44 passengers including; Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan-smoe names not so familiar to people under than "us"! Byrne was the oldest in the group at 28 years. Ducan Edwards survived the crash but died 15 days later. Red Star reponded to the tragedy by asking UEFA for Manchester United to become "Honorary Champions of Europe" but UEFA did not accept this gesture. 

In May, United won the first leg of the Semi-Final against Milan2-1 but lost the return 0-4. Real Madrid went on to win the Trophy.

ARSENE'S GARDENERS

On This Day  4th February 2017
The trouble with a manager getting a touchline ban is usually means that they end up sitting with the plebs...that us us supporters! And that can be an uncomfortable experience as Arsène Wenger found out when sitting with the paying spectators at Stamford Bridge during a four-match touchline ban received at the start of 2017 for abusing a fourth official. The Arsenal manager sat next to an Arsenal fan who was his gardener - but the Frenchman had no idea who he was! “But I do have a big garden..." was Wenger's get-out clause!

Former Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury, once tipped for stardom by Arsene Wenger and who had played 8 times for The Gunners, successfully transitioned into a new career as a gardener and entrepreneur after retiring in 2023, during the "Pandemic", aged 32. 

His products have not only hit the shelves at Homebase but also returned him to familiar turf, treating the grounds he once graced as a youth at Arsenal's Hale End academy. He founded "Grass Gains", an organic lawn fertilizer company, and has supplied products to professional football clubs, while also creating specialized, striped turf. Lansbury developed a passion for lawn care during the COVID-19 lockdown. His company, Grass Gains, achieved significant success, with products stocked in Homebase. He has tended to the pitches at Arsenal's Hale End academy, the same facility where he trained as a young player under Wenger.                             

Post-Football Life: After retiring at 32, following a promotion-winning stint with Luton Town, he committed full-time to his turf business. Lansbury has stated his goal is to help local clubs improve their pitches, enjoying the process of creating high-quality, striped surfaces. 

THE GOLDEN VISION

 Alex Young, born this day....3 February 1937 was a legendary Scottish footballer, best known for his time as a center-forward for Everton Football Club between 1960 and 1968, where he earned the nickname "The Golden Vision". He is considered to be one of the greatest players in Everton's history and is often referred to be the "King of Goodison" for his elegant style and high scoring rate. Everton Career: Signed from Heart of Midlothian in November 1960 for £40,000. He made 273 appearances and scored 87 goals for the Toffees. He died on 27 February 2017).

Major Honours: He was a key member of the 1962/63 League Championship-winning side (scoring 22 goals) and the 1966 FA Cup-winning team. Playing Style: Known for his incredible grace, ball control, and ability to glide past defenders. He was described as a "matador" with the ball, frequently tricking defenders and having an almost supernatural talent. Legacy: He was dubbed "The Golden Vision" by Spurs captain Danny Blanchflower. 

The phrase also inspired a famous 1968 BBC documentary about a blind fan’s devotion to him.       Post-Football: After leaving Everton in 1968, he briefly managed Glentoran and played for Stockport County. He later ran an upholstery business in Edinburgh. Young passed away in February 2017 at the age of 80, with tributes noting that his status as a club icon remained undimmed, decades after he left Goodison Park.